“In the near future the tech [5G] will enable city-scale networks and city-scale spatial computing. Not just the IoT as it relates to your office and home environment but a city where devices and sensors and all sorts of things are connected.” Amy Webb, Future Today Institute founder and quantitative futurist.
Just as we’ve got our heads more or less around the Internet of Things thing (who didn’t get an Alexa for Christmas?) – that’s smart fridges, smart appliances, smart cars, etc, etc – along comes 5G. For fun, let’s call 5G delivery ‘The G that Connects Them All’ since 5G connects all the smart things to each other. And the point of having 5G to connect the IoT and have smart machines talking to each other? So the world and perhaps time itself can speed up even more.
What is it, really?
Without the glib hyperbole, what exactly is 5G? “Fifth generation” networks are the latest advancement in wireless internet. 5G uses millimetre waves which are extremely high frequency to transfer data faster. Data, as we now know all too well (just look at the state data has got us in already: read our article Strong & Stable Delivery for your Post-Brexit Business) is king in today’s world. Getting data from A-B faster translates as getting real things from A-B faster. That’s just the way the world works now. 5G and the IoT will greatly improve speed and accuracy. Currently most parcels spend the majority of their time in dead-zones and are only logged at point of collection and delivery, but 5G delivery allows for real-time tracking of parcels without any human input – which means a reduction in the potential for human error. Your customers will soon be able to follow their deliveries from purchase to their front door at every stage of the journey.
“Recent developments, such as just-in-time deliveries, which were once only accessible to a select few, could become mainstream as 5G and IoT devices make tracking deliveries possible in real time.” Raconteur.com
It’s been said that the sector most likely to benefit from 5G delivery tech is the logistics sector – and that sounds about right to us given that the sector supports around 56,000 businesses and employs 8% of the UK’s workforce. The challenge, for businesses big and small, is going to be to ensure that they are using smart devices wherever possible and that those smart devices are talking to each other in an optimal way – this means using the best logistics software available. The software provider must offer a fully mobile service, which is why we are excited to be launching the SmartConsign app. In a world where 5G and the IoT work at a speed and efficiency that will provide the best service for our customers – the SmartConsign app ensures that the humans keep up with the machines.
In our opinion the real impact of the change to 5G will be courier drivers systems: real-time information vs information polled hourly along with faster information and higher bandwidths will mean that drivers can be updated by or receive updates from HQ faster and with more details. For instance with providing immediate route changes.
For SmartConsign, it’s not that we gain any new features as such it’s more that there will be fewer bottlenecks in the data, more bandwidth means we transmit more information faster and have the ability to present it in a humanised-friendly manner – which is how we like it.
We’re on it! The SmartConsign app is coming very soon. Sign up here so we can notify you when we launch.
